Just found out my dd needs hearing aids

happyone

Wed, Jan 30 2013, 8:07 am

Unless you are the parent of a hairing impaired child, or hairing impaired yourself, this response isnt very helpful or supportive to a parent of a newly diagnosed child with ANY impairment. Its devastating to a parent to find out that their hopes, dreams, and future for their child will take a different turn than previosly anticipated. Parents go through many stages of pain for the difficulties their child may incur, grief, denial, anxiety, anger etc and with the right support and guidance, ultimately ACCEPTANCE. Right now this mom needs support, handholding and to network with other moms in similar situations that can understand and walk her through the motions.
Op, my heart is with you. May Hashem give you the koach to get through each step as it comes. For now its ok to be in shock, devastated and in pain. Make sure to find support both in person and online. First step is to get your daughter the right device, therapy and remember shes still the little girl she was the day before the diagnosis! With love, support and acceptance she will iyh thrive... Thank god e llive in more accepting society than previous generations.
Good luck.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Jan 30 2013, 6:58 pm

happyone wrote:

THIS! I had a good freak out when I found out the my daughter had Williams Syndrome, then I realized that she is the exact same girl she was before the diagnosis. Nothing had changed, except that now I was better informed and more able to give her a good life.

OP, contact your local Lion's Club, if you haven't already. They provide all kinds of services and support for the deaf and blind, and may be able to get you some good info. My mom was a sign language interpreter for 30 years, and she worked with them extensively. I grew up around deaf people, and none of them seemed to be slowed down one bit!

Another thing, check out "Baby Signs" and the video series "Signing Time" . The videos are geared for toddlers, and are very bright, colorful and fun. I taught my daughter to sign before she could speak, and it helped our communication immensely! It literally cut the tantrums by about 80%, because I could understand her needs so much more clearly.

baskrox

Wed, Jan 30 2013, 8:50 pm

Hugs!!! We just went through this with our DD last summer. Her Kindergarten school hearing test results suggested we follow up with an ENT. At our pediatrician's office, she passed the hearing test and he told us not to worry about it. I had an appt with my son anyway, following up on tubes/adenoid surgery, so I added her onto the appt., never ever expecting to hear the news that she has mild hearing loss - which can not be "fixed" with tubes, but she would need hearing aids!! She is very bright and was speaking perfectly! I was devastated, no matter what people on this forum are saying, it is not easy to be "different." But I knew I had to be positive for her and upbeat. I explained it to her very matter-of-fact. The same way she wears glasses to help her see better, she needs hearing aids to help her hear better.
The audiologist we went to was amazing. At the appointment, DD got to pick what color hearing aids she wanted (pink, of course!) and they come with stickers that she can put on and change, butterflies, smilies, floweres etc... We also got a book about a boy who wears hearing aids, that was great to read to her. And they came with a stuffed beaver that wears hearing aids. I had already looked into dolls with hearing aids, and you can buy hearing aids as a doll accessory for an 18" doll (when she's older) or order an American Girl doll with a hearing aid.
It was heartbreaking for me when she brought up her nervousness of wearing them to camp for the first time, being different, no one else has them etc... To help her with the transition, I bought her a new doll that she took with her to camp and all the girls oohed and aahed about the doll, taking some attention away from the hearing aids. We also gave her some sort of reward after wearing them for a full week, I don't remember what. And then again, when she was going into 1st grade, telling me no one else in school has them! She is in general an upbeat child, and she was fine. The other girls were totally fine with it.
RESULTS:
Her K teachers were commenting the whole year on her lack of focus, lack of attention to details, etc.. etc.. We were thinking possible ADD, b/c my son has it.
Now, in 1st grade, with the hearing aids, she is thriving. She is on the ball, attentive and really successful.
The hearing aids have become completely "normal" to her, her friends, and siblings. When we open a new milk bottle, the kids all fight for the ring and put it around their ear, pretending it's a hearing aid. Her younger siblings ask me when they are getting hearing aids, or if they will get them when they're older.
I still worry about when she'll be older, a teenager, in shidduchim etc..., but I see clearly how they help her hear and be successful in life, I am extremely grateful that we discovered her hearing loss and have a solution to help her.
It may seem silly, but what helped me also, was spoiling her with nicer hair accessories and jewelry that I normally wouldn't spend money on, but I felt it was important to help her look and feel her best.
Good Luck! Feel free to PM me.